RN Support
A nursing assessment helps identify care needs. With agency-directed care, RN oversight supports the care plan and ongoing personal-care services. The assessment does not guarantee authorization.
Paid family caregivers · Virginia Medicaid
Get Paid to Care for Your Child or Loved One in Virginia
You may already be providing the care your loved one needs every day. Virginia Medicaid may allow an eligible parent or family member to become a paid caregiver for approved personal-care services. First Choice Home Care makes the process easier.
Care for family. Get supported.
You Care for Them Every Day. That Care Has Value.
You know the small details that make care work. If a family-caregiver arrangement is appropriate and authorized, agency-directed support can help you put that knowledge into an approved care plan.
We Handle the Details
We help you understand the agency-directed process: caregiver onboarding, training, payroll, care documentation, and Medicaid billing. Your Care Navigator can explain the responsibilities for your arrangement.
A clear record of care
Electronic visit verification (EVV) records required details about a care visit, including when it begins and ends. We explain the timekeeping and documentation steps that apply before authorized care begins.
Help with coverage questions
Not sure which health plan or waiver you have? Choose “I do not know” in the screening. Ask our team to verify current plan participation, employment terms, and pay for your situation.
Understanding Virginia’s LRI rules
Start with the hands-on care your child needs.
LRI means Legally Responsible Individual: a parent or legal guardian of a minor, or a participant’s spouse. For a qualifying child, paid care must be extraordinary—beyond the care normally expected for another child of the same age.
- Help with activities of daily livingHands-on help with bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, transfers, or mobility may be considered. The assessment and authorized plan determine the tasks that qualify.
- More than ordinary parentingGeneral supervision, ordinary routines, household tasks, and medication reminders alone do not establish extraordinary personal-care needs under the LRI rules.
- Up to 40 reimbursable hoursA paid LRI may receive up to 40 hours per week for each qualifying child, subject to the applicable program, assessment, care plan, service authorization, and health-plan rules. This is a limit, not a promised number of hours.
- Review the respite limitationDMAS says respite is not available when there is a paid LRI providing personal care or assistance. Do not assume respite is available outside paid shifts; review the full care arrangement with the health plan or support coordinator.
Education checked September 10, 2026 against Virginia Medicaid’s LRI guidance and its Extraordinary Care Guide (PDF). Rules and individual authorizations can change.
What eligibility depends on
The answer comes from the whole care situation.
A diagnosis alone does not determine eligibility. Our preliminary check helps identify what needs to be verified next.
This screening does not guarantee Medicaid eligibility or service authorization. First Choice Home Care does not make the final eligibility or authorization decision; the responsible Virginia agency, health plan, or program does.
The person receiving care
Virginia Medicaid coverage, the applicable program or waiver, and an assessed need for personal care all matter.
The caregiver relationship
Parents of minors, legal guardians, spouses, and other relatives can be subject to different program requirements.
The approved services
Payment is tied to authorized personal-care tasks and hours in the care plan. It does not cover every kind of help a family provides.
Caregiver requirements
The caregiver must meet the applicable aide or attendant requirements, including required training, screening, and documentation.
Already approved?
Already have Virginia Medicaid and approved personal-care hours? Tell us. Your process may be much simpler.
We can review the path to starting or transferring care. Keep clinical records out of the initial screening; our team will explain the next handoff.
Program questions
What families often ask first.
Who can be considered a paid family caregiver?
Depending on the program and circumstances, an eligible parent, spouse, guardian, adult child, sibling, or other relative may be considered. Parents of minors, legal guardians, and spouses must satisfy the applicable LRI rules as well as caregiver requirements.
What kinds of care may be authorized?
Personal care can include help with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transfers, and mobility. For a paid LRI, care must meet the extraordinary-care standard. Services and hours must be documented and authorized.
How much will a family caregiver be paid?
Ask a Care Navigator for the current rate and employment terms that apply to the role and care arrangement. Rates can change. Payment and available hours depend on eligibility, onboarding, and service authorization.
Will I be a First Choice employee?
Your Care Navigator can confirm the employment arrangement and required onboarding before you agree to begin care. Ask about training, payroll, timekeeping, and documentation as part of that conversation.
What if my loved one does not have Medicaid or a waiver?
This paid-caregiver pathway depends on Virginia Medicaid and an applicable benefit or waiver. You can still complete the preliminary check and select “no” or “unsure.” We can discuss the information to verify and our existing home-care services.
Which health plans does First Choice accept?
Call our team to verify current participation for your plan, location, and requested service. A health-plan name in the screening form helps us route your inquiry; it is not a statement that a contract or authorization is in place.
You care for them every day. Let’s explore the next step.
A few questions about coverage and daily care. No medical records or member numbers.